Tom Garland

9.7

Double decant and pour(decent sediment).  A remarkable still murky dark garnet with bricking.  On the nose:  Intoxicating perfumed notes of dark fruit, worn leather, smoked meat, touch of barnyard, tobacco leaf, mushrooms, mint.  Taste:  silky, fresh, regal, powerful wine with sweet red fruit, meaty, dried herbs, tobacco, mineral, and a earthy orange rind lingering finish with a slight tannic kick.  Amazing!!! YUM! — 4 months ago

Ron Siegel

9.3

More of a suave & polished version of LB that is showing well at 38 yrs. Notes of red & black fruits, spice box, earth, cedar, floral, leather & tobacco — 6 months ago

Ron Siegel

9.4

Youthful, structured with red & black fruits, currant, cedar, spice & tobacco — 7 months ago

Chris Blanchard

9.1

2023 vintage - it opened brighter than expected with bold ripe flavors and more fruit forward than expected. It was a nice surprise. After 30 minutes the flavors balanced a bit and tasted less bright and fruity and more balanced. The wife and I enjoyed the bottle. — 9 months ago

Austin Hohnke

9.4

Last bottle of this vintage. Heavenly. Rum raisin, cranberry, old strawberries, carob, fig, earth, tobacco leaf. Silky, delicate, and resolved. Loads of sediment, not out of life but on its decline. — 4 years ago

Erin Joyce

9.2

Waited a few years to drink the 2017 and it’s even better than I remembered. In times like these it’s important to savor the floral bouquet and stone fruit deliciousness of this wine and essentials like Clorox bleach. — 7 years ago

with Sandra

Kapyrick Wine

9.2

V13. Very well balanced, very nice food wine. Soft violet and cedar nose. Nice round black cherry and currant fruit. Earthy finish. — 10 years ago

Philip Cook

8.9

Black cherry, raspberry notes. Fair amount of acidity. Paired well with baked salmon. — 11 years ago

Matthew Beckman

9.3

Lovely nose of cherry and tobacco...plenty of time left for this but approachable now. My wine of the night — 11 years ago

Paul Lopez

9.8

I do remember....what a wine! — 12 years ago

Ron Siegel

9.4

Classic La Mission nose that is in a perfect spot showing red & black fruits, cedar, leather, earth, graphite, spice box along with sweet tobacco — 4 months ago

Jan de Weerd

9.6

And now a Bordeaux blend expression from… well Bordeaux! Left bank that is. Our favorite left bank Bordeaux fantastic quality for reasonable price. This wine was intense, still rather edgy tannins but already great complexity of waves of dark and red fruit laced in subtle pipe tobacco and spiced oak. — 5 months ago

with RoAnne, Tammy and 2 others

Magnus Hovet

9.2

Really smooth. A lot more dark plums, and softer tannins. Earthiness, small amount of spice and looong aftertaste — 6 months ago

Ron Siegel

9.3

This needed some air to open to reveal red & black fruits, menthol, sweet savory spice, earth, graphite & tobacco leaf. — 8 months ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.2

Pretty deep ruby garnet , medium wide garnet rim . Aromatic and really classic with a mix or red and dark fruits , tobacco , grafite and cedar . On the palate this is quite linear , again with the red and dark fruits from the nose, cedar and grafite and quite rounded resolved tannins . Fresh acidity , good cedar with grafite length , very classic in style . Enough density and fruit to cover the rest of the structure. In a perfect place now at least in this format , and probably will be over the next 10 years . This was from an Imperial , at BBR in London . — 9 months ago

Rick Baraff

9.1

That’s some nice drinkin’ stuff (circa 2017). Thanks to the local somm, Steve, at our Whole Foods for the recom... it was their last bottle and he sacrificed. — 7 years ago

Conrad Green

9.3

Soft cherry fruit with a hint of tobacco and mellow oak on the nose. Beautifully approachable fruit it’s a tart note. Yummy — 8 years ago

with Paul

Joyce Lin

8.9

Purple/red flower on the nose, candied cherry, tiny touch of black pepper, thyme, mint, cinnamon, nutmeg, medium plus tannin, a touch of tobacco, cocoa powder, beautiful and velvety. A very nice Chinon. Had pasta asparagus/mushroom pasta with anchovy garlic butter sauce with it. It's a wonderful pairing. — 10 years ago

Ray Isle

Executive Wine Editor Food & Wine Magazine

9.3

Plenty of time left, but I don't think it qualifies as infanticide when the wine tastes so damn good now... — 11 years ago

Saman Hosseini

Writer Maison Abattoir

9.4

Deep ruby in color. Bursts with sour cherry, cedar, savory tobacco and leather. Neither gamey nor oxidized. Tannin and fine and silly and finishes with lithe acidity. — 13 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.3

Unmistakably Central Otago to my palate. Red plums and raspberries. 20% of the grapes were whole bunch. Also aged in 27% new oak. I must mention Neil Martin’s famous Quote, “ Whenever there is a tasting designed to challenge the supremacy of Burgundy, it is usually Felton Road that is ushered into the ring”. Very much on allocation these days and can be difficult to source. — 4 months ago

Bob McDonald

9.5

I’ll just commence this tasting note to see if it is accepted. Dense Ruby in colour. Blackcurrant and tobacco notes - ripe blue and black fruits - luscious texture. Anytime I’ve had a Napa (or Washington State) Cabernet I have always been impressed - probably better than most good Aussie Cabernets (and more expensive). Has a good future but irresistible right now. Have the last bottle in a year or two. Interestingly reverse osmosis was used to reduce the alcohol. Now at 13.9%. — 6 months ago

Ryan Colthorp

9.0

Super dark. Cocoa and baking spice on the nose. Plum. Stewed fruits. — 8 months ago

Ron Siegel

9.3

Beautiful drinking Barbaresco with its red cherry, berry fruit, spice, licorice, dried herbs, rose petal & tobacco. — 9 months ago

Richard Mills

9.5

Really tasty and smooth. Monthly pick we had with mom and Cali. — 6 years ago

David Barnes-Trujillo

9.2

Jeff 9 me 9.7 — 8 years ago

with Jeffrey

Parijat Talkad

9.6

Smooth, full bodied wine. — 9 years ago

Zorin Dobson

9.4

Fruit bomb. — 10 years ago

Evan Malik

9.3

Silky smooth, tobacco leather and some hints of cognac. Great showing... — 11 years ago

Andrew Mecoli

9.6

This one's from last Summer, but had to rate this amazing 1987 La Rioja Alta Vina Ardanza. Beautiful light brick color. Cherries, spices and tobacco on the nose. Smooth as silk. Was in perfect shape and confirmed the quality and value of aged Rioja. Fantastic. — 12 years ago